Applicator tool for drill pipe protectors



J. E. HALL, SR APPLICATOR TOOL FOR DRILL PIPE PROTECTORS April 7, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 5, 1950 INVENTOR. (/2569 5 #0/4 5/.

April 9 J. E. HALL, SR 2,633,632

APPLICATOR TOOL FOR DRILL PIPE PROTECTORS Filed July 5, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. (/2556 E. #04 5/:

' Tram/5% April 7, 1953 J.YE.IQHIALL, SR 2,633,632

APPLICATOR TOOL FOR DRILL PIPE PROTECTORS Filed July 5, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. desse 5 Ha/; 5/:

ATTOR E).

Patented Apr. 7, 1953 APPLIOATOR TOOL FOR DRILL PIPE w PROTECTORS Jesse Hall, Sr., Weatherford, Tex. Ah i et e eer e! a Edit 8 claims This invention relates to improvements in. an applicator tool for drill pipe protectors used on drill pipe to protectthepipe and tool joints; during drilling operations.

This application isi a, eontinuationeinepart of my application Serial No. 93.457 filed May 16, 1 49.

Its principal novelty resides. in the; use of splined tapered cones mounted in opposed re? lationship. upon. a mandrel in a hydraulic. jack so the splines of each. cone. register with the slotted portions of the. opposed cones to. expand the rubber protector placed between the cones. After expansion the protectoris shifted to the sleeve o the l apsible hydraulica ly e htmlled t a s r case- This transfer case. has a hi ed frame or a frame with remc ah e ec ns permi t ng removal of the case f om. the. ip after ap otec has been a plied to the dr ll ip as distin i h d from the ase dss esed my hrih application which had to be slid, on and off an end of he drill ni eih cheer to re rieve the case r m h p pe ter he mte t l had b en ele sed.

A o there ore. is 9 h hr l e e flppl fl o h ch is eme eht. r pid n o eration and. e

I which reduces to a m nimum th l tllill I- me ring. of e. rubber edges 9; s itees c the re e tor.

Another object is to provide. a portable device hi ay be c r ed the ttehehe ecl from place to place. in .a light truck hi the rea 9f an automobile.

A further object is to provide an applicator which can be operate by an individual and. the protectors expanded and transfe rredv from the exp n i g me ani m. in he dril p pe s r i ly as the operator can engage and disengage the transfer cage from the frame.

Other and further objects, will appear from the description which follows:

n t acc m an ing draw ngs wh c orm a p r o the spec fication and to he ad i n nc i n er w th. there is show an emb ment of e h ehtic a d th se e a-wines l ke Ieferenge umera s .illd hi ik Pa s 1 h various views.

Fig. l is a side elevational view of thehydraulic ja h the t ansfe ase e tended and ltioned within the frame, and showing the, pr'otec tor in a partially expanded condition.

Fig. 2 is anend viewof the transfer cage removed irom the jack to showthe manner of hinging the end plates of the page.

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the line 33 of Fig. -1 in the direction ot-the arrows.

Fig. 4 is' a side elevational view of the transfer cage'on a drill pipe preparatory to releasing the protector. Fig. 5 is a view Fig. 2.

rag. 6 is a modified type f construction utilizing removable sectors from the end plates of the cage in place of the hinged construction shown tal zen along the line 5-5 in in'the previous figure.

Fig. 7 is a view taken along the line 'l--? in Fig. 6 in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 8 isa side elevational view of the splined tapered members and hydraulic jack or frame with a protector in position to be eizpanded.

Fig. 9 is a side view of the hydraulic jack and cage,- rotated 45 from the view of Fig. 8, with parts broken away and in section to reveal the mounting of thesplined tapered members and transfer sleeves.

The applicator is made up of four essential parts r units including a hydraulic jack, a transfer cage, a removable slidable splined tapered member or cone and removable end plate. The hydraulic jack, best shown in Fig. 1, comprises a hydraulic cylinder Ill to which is affixed base plate ll. lhe hydraulic system and controls for actuating the piston have been omitted for simplicity. -"Extending from the base plate I! are a plurality of tie rods [2 rigidly attached at one of their ends to the base plate and at their opposite'free. ends are locking heads l-2a formed by machining grooves circumferentially in the rods a short distance from their ends. Upon the hy: draulicpiston I 3 operating in cylinder Ii is mounted a splined cone or tapered member M, which is best seen in Fig. 8. The frusto-conical tapered portion of the member is slotted longitudinally to form splines Me Centrally of the cone is a shoulder'Ma and that portion of the cone adjacent the piston is a plane surfaced taper designated by the numeral Mb. The cone is internally slotted to receive-the splines of the opposed cone when the two are brought into registration as hereinafter explained. Piston E3 to which the cone is afnxed extends through the splined cone 14 in the form of a cylindrical mana e t .S i ah g ta e ed m mbe Mounted upon the piston extension or .cylindrir cal mandrel Hat is a second splined .cone it, best seen in Figs. 8 and 9, corresponding in its. general construction to cone 14 in that it has tapered splines 15c registering with the. grooves in the opposed cone M, a shoulder portion 15a and an unsplined tapered rear portion b. The shoulder portion of the cone, however, is at the opposite side of the cone from the shoulder on cone I4. Cone I5 is centrally drilled to slidably fit on mandrel I3a and a keyway is milled within the cone to register with key I3b on the mandrel. The key is located to position cone I5 so its splines are in alignment with and will register with the slots of cone I4, identical in construction with slots I5d of cone I5, when the two cones are moved together, as will be hereinafter described. In Figs. 1 and 8 a protector I6 is shown between the cones I4 and I5, being shown partially expanded in Fig. l.

The transfer cage The transfer cage used for carrying the expanded protector from the frame to the drill pipe is shown in position on the jack in Figs. 1 and 9, removed from the jack in Fig. 2, and applied to the drill pipe in Fig. 4 with the protector in expanded position and ready to be released onto the pipe. The construction of the cage is probably best shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 9. In brief, it comprises tapered sleeves IT and 18 which have stepped outer surfaces and enlarged end plates or flanges I9 and 20. Set into plate I9 and rigidly aflixed thereto are hydraulic cylinders 2I. The pistons 22 operating in these cylinders have their ends rigidly attached to plate 20 by means of bolts 22a. The sleeves I1 and I8 and plates I9 and 2B are centrally apertured to slide over the splined cones I4 and I5 so when the transfer cage is assembled upon the hydraulic jack, as shown in Fig. l, sleeve I! with its enlarged flange or end plate I9 surrounds the cylindrical portion of cone I4 while sleeve I8 with its flange 20 fits over the cylindrical portion of cone I5.

The hydraulic system of the transfer cage is a closed system, comprising the space within the cylinders 2I on opposite sides of the pistons connected through a series of pipes 23 at one end of the cylinders and by pipes 24 at the opposite ends of the cylinders. The two systems of pipes 23 and 24 are connected by a valve 25 to provide communication between the two systems so the hydraulic liquid can pass from one end of the cylinders to the opposite and back again, when the ends of the cage are drawn together by the jack in expanding the protector and when the cage is spread with the release of the protector onto the drill .pipe.

In Figs. 2 and 3 the end plate construction of the cage is indicated. These end plates and the tapered sleeves I1 and I8 are in two pieces diametrically separated so they may be swun apart upon pivots 2B. The joining edges of plates I9 and 20 are tongue and grooved, as shown in Fig. 5, and are held together by means of pins 21 which extend through the fitted portion of the plates. In Figs. 6 and 'l' is shown a modified type of construction where, instead of 'hinging the annular plates or sleeve flanges, sectors I9a-2Ila are removable from each of the end plates I9 and 20. As in the hinged structure these sectors have a tongue and groove joint with. the plate into which they fit and are held in place by pins or bolts 21 in a manner similar to that shown in the hinged construction in Fig. 2.

In operation the hydraulic jack is lowered to a horizontal position and, with the and holding plate 28 removed, a protector I6 is slid onto the mandrel I3a and against the splines of cone I4. The removable cone I5 is thenslid onto the 4 mandrel with its splines facing those of cone I4 as shown in Fig. 8. It will be noted that the tapered ends of the splines of the two cones are beneath the opposite end edges of the protector. The transfer cage, with sleeves I1 and I8 sep-- arated to a maximum degree, is slid onto the cones so sleeve II encircles the splines of cone I4 and sleeve I8 fits about the cylindrical portion of cone I5, as shown in Fig. 9. To separate the sleeves of the transfer cage, valve 25 is opened and the sleeves manually pulled apart causing the hydraulic fluid to flow into the ends of the hydraulic cylinders remote from holding plate 28. Plate 28 is then affixed to the ends of the tie rods I2 abutting the outer face of plate 20 of the cage. In this position the holding plate is locked. To expand the protector hydraulic fluid is introduced behind the piston in cylinder III by a fluid pump mechanism conventional to hydraulic apparatus and omitted from the drawings. Suitable controls are used in the introduction of the fluid to regulate the rapidity with which the piston is actuated and the length of the thrust. As piston I3, cone I4 and the cylindrical mandrel, upon which cone I5 slides, move as a unit longitudinally within the tie rods I2 of the hydraulic jack, the splines of the respective cones will advance toward each other within the protector. The splines of the cones are aligned to register with slots of the opposed cone and the depth of the slots is such that the cones can be drawn together to a position where the protector is expanded or stretched to a size that its inside diameter is that of the cylindrical portions of the cones. As cone I4 moves with the piston, it shoulder portion I4a abuts against the outer surface of sleeve I'I causing the sleeve to move with it as it advances toward the other cone. Holding plate 28 at the opposite end of the jack abuts against a shoulder portion on cone 18 holding it fixedly against longitudinal movement as cone I4 advances. As the cones move together protector I6 is expanded and the outer edges of the protector expand outwardly moving along the tapered surface of the splines and onto the transfer sleeves I1 and I8 where the protector finally rests in an expanded position as is shown in Fig. 4.

At this time valve 25 is shut to isolate the hydraulic fluid in the ends of the cylinders closest to holding plate 28 thus holding the transfer cage in a collapsed condition as shown in Fig. 4.

Holding plate 28 is then rotated to an unlocked position and removed from the ends of the tie rods I2 at which time the transfer cage can be slid off the ends of the tie rods and placed on a section of pipe as shown in Fig. 4. By shifting the cage along the drill pipe, the protector can be located in any desired position and when so located valve 25 is opened releasing the expanded protector onto the surface of the pipe. The elastic force of the expanded protector snaps the sleeve apart and shifts the hydraulic fluid in cylinders 2| from one end to the opposite and through the hydraulic pipe system previously explained. Grease is used on the outer surface'of the sleeves I! and I8 to reduce friction during expansion of the protector and to facilitate release of the protector from the sleeves onto the drill pipe. When released onto the pipe the protector will grip tightly and evenly the surface of the pipe and will remain immovable thereon unless again expanded or cut from. the pipe. After the protector has been appl e to t e pipe. pins. 21 are. remo ed rom the end plates of the cage and the ca e opened up by swinging open the ends on. pivots 26. The, hinging of the. end plates and sleeves permits easy removal of the cage from the drill pipe. When a cage employing the modified construction shown in Fig. 6 is used, pins 27 from the sectors in the two plates are taken out and the sectors removed when the cage is to be taken off of the pipe. After the pipe has been slid through the openings, the sectors are again inserted and the pins 2'! replaced. The cage is then ready to be returned to the jack to expand another protector.

Thus, it will be seen that there has been pro,- vided a device for expanding'drill pipe protectors or other type of expansible rings. whose inside diameter is to be enlarged to flt' upon a larger object. There has been provided an applicator which requires a minimum of manual effort and one in which high expansive forces are obtained by the simple manipulation of a single hydraulic valve. The applicator not only provides a means for easily expanding a protector but furnishes a portable device for transferring the expanded annulus from the expanding mechanism to the drill pipe where it is released and applied to the pipe in a safe and simple operation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention is well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinbefore set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

As many possible embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. In a device for transferring protectors from a meshing splined cone expander to drill pipe, the combination comprising a pair of coaxial sleeves disposed in axially spaced relation, the facing ends of said sleeves adapted to flt inside the bore of an expanded protector and the opposite ends being provided with radial flanges, telescoping links connecting the respective flanges thereby to permit limited axial movement of said sleeves toward and from one another, said links being spaced circumferentially around said flanges, releasable means for holding said sleeves together with their adjacent ends in substantial abutment, each of said sleeves and its associated flange being divided longitudinally into separable complementary segments whereby sidewise removal of the device from the drill pipe is permitted on release of the protector to said pipe.

2. In a device for transferring protectors from a meshing splined cone expander to drill pipe, the combination comprising a pair of coaxial sleeves disposed in axially spaced relation, the facing ends of said sleeves adapted to fit inside the bore of the expanded protector and the opposite ends being provided with radial flanges, telescoping links connecting the respective flanges thereby to permit limited axial movement of said sleeves toward and from one another, said links being spaced circumferentially around said flanges, releasable means for holding said sleeves together with their adjacent ends in substantial abutment, and each of said sleeves and its associated flange being split longitudinally to provide opposing complementary sections, the sections of each sleeve and flange being hingedly assists connected at one juncture about acommon axis parallel to and spaced from the sleeve axis and releasably secured at the other juncture to permit pivotal separation of the sections whereby lateral. removal of the. device from the drill pipe is permitted on the release of the expanded protector' to said pipe. 1

3. In a device for transferring protectors from a meshing splined cone expander to drill pipe, the combination comprising a pair of coaxial sleeves disposed in axially spaced relation, the facing ends ofsaid sleeves adapted to flt inside the bore of the expanded protector and the opposite; ends being provided with radial flanges, telescoping links connecting; the respective flanges thereby to permitlimited axial movement of said sleeves toward and fromone another, said' linksbeing spaced circumferentially around said flanges, releasable means for holding said sleeves together with their adjacent ends in substantial abutment, and each of said sleeves and its associated flange being provided with a removable sector between two adjacent links whereby sidewise removal of the device from the drill pipe is permitted on release of the protector to said pipe.

4. In a device for transferring protectors from a meshing splined cone expander to drill pipe, the combination comprising a pair of coaxial sleeves disposed in axially spaced relation, the facing ends of said sleeves adapted to fit inside the bore of an expanded protector and the opposite ends being provided with radial flanges, a plurality of telescoping links positioned between and connected to said flanges, said links bein spaced circumferentially around said flanges, each of said sleeves and its associated flange being separated longitudinally to form opposed complementary sections hingedly connected at one juncture about a common axis spaced from and substantially parallel to the axis of said sleeves and releasably secured at the other juncture to permit pivotal separation of said sections and the telescoping links carried thereby thus to permit lateral removal of the device from the drill pipe on the release of the expanded protector to said pipe.

5. In a device for transferring protectors from a meshing splined cone expander to drill pipe, the combination comprising a pair of coaxial sleeves disposed in axially spaced relation and having radial annular flanges at their outer ends, a plurality of enclosed tubes secured to one of said flanges at circumferentially spaced intervals, said tubes paralleling the axis of said sleeves and each containing a piston having a piston rod connected to the other of said flanges, each of said sleeves and its associated flange bein longitudinally split to form opposed complementary sections hingedly connected at one juncture about a common axis parallel to and spaced from said sleeve axis and releasably secured at the other juncture to permit pivotal separation of the sections and their associated tubes and piston about the hinge axis, hydraulic fluid in each tube on both sides of the piston, passageways through which fluid can flow from one side or the respective pistons to the other side upon axial movement of the sleeves, and valve mean associated with said passageways operable to prevent said flow and thus cause said tubes and pistons to resist movement of said sleeves relative to one another.

6. A device as in claim 5 wherein said passageacsaeea 4 ways comprise flexible hoses joined to a common duct having a singlej'valve,

i 'I. In a device for transferring protectors from a meshing splined cone expander to drill pipe, the combination comprising a pair of coaxial sleeves disposed in axially spaced relation and having radial annular flanges at the other ends, a plurality of enclosed tubes secured to one of said flanges at circumferentially spaced intervals, said tubes paralleling the axis of said sleeves and each containing a piston having a piston rod connected to the other of said flanges, hydraulic fluid in each tube on both sides of the piston, passageways through which fluid can flow from one side of the respective pistons to the other side upon axial movement of the sleeves, valve means associated with said passageway operable to prevent said flow and thus cause said tubes and pistons to resist movement of said sleeves relative to one another, and each of said sleeves and its associated flanges being provided with a removable sector between two adjacent tubes whereby sidewise removal of the device from the drill pipe is permitted on release of the protector to the pipe.

8. A device as in claim '7 wherein said passageways comprise flexible hoses joined to a common duct having a single valve.

JESSE E. HALL, SR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,58'7;689 Weiss et a1. June 8, 1926 2,435,868 Boyd et a1 Feb. 10, 1948 

